Oklahoma City is looking to match Miami's vaunted "Big Three" with a wildly talented trio of its own in two-time defending scoring champ Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Sixth Man of the Year James Harden. The Thunder rolled through the regular season with a record of 47-19, which won them the Northwest Division and set them up as the No. 2 seed for the Western Conference playoffs.
The Thunder blew by the defending champion Dallas Mavericks in four games in the opening round, dispatched the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the conference semifinals, and then roared back from a 2-0 hole to beat the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the conference finals. Boasting a deep bench and arguably the most athletic team in the league, the Thunder appear primed to go all the way.
But the Heat, with two of the five best players on the planet in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade (and some other guy named Chris Bosh), cannot be counted out so easily. After a regular season that saw the team finish 46-20, the Southeast Division champs were seeded second for their Eastern Conference playoff run.
After handily taking care of the New York Knicks in five games in the first round, James and company had a scare put into them by the Indiana Pacers, who appeared ready to take control of the series as they went up 2-1. Miami fought back to win in six but then ran into the Celtics. Boston pushed the Heat to the brink but in the end just didn't have enough and fell in seven games.
So who will it be? "Big Three" East or "Big Three" West? King James or the Durantula? Vote below and let us know what you think.
